Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Angels Rumors

Blake Wood Diagnosed With Elbow Impingement

By | at

Angels righty Blake Wood has been diagnosed with an impingement in his pitching elbow, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group was among those to report on Twitter. Wood is heading to the 10-day DL.

Fellow righty Justin Anderson receiving his first call to the majors to take the open roster spot. The team had an open 40-man spot to accommodate the selection of his contract. Another right-handed reliever, Eduardo Paredes, is also heading back to the majors after some time on optional assignment.

The Halos added Wood late in the 2017 season and then agreed to an arbitration contract with him just before the tender deadline. He’s earning $1.45MM for the 2018 season.

Details of the injury aren’t yet known, but this sort of malady typically sidelines a pitcher for a fairly substantial stretch of time. To take but one recent example — which may or may no be of much predictive value — the Dodgers shut down Alex Wood for about a month when he was diagnosed with an elbow impingement back in 2016.

Wood, 32, has given the Angels 11 2/3 innings of 2.31 ERA ball thus far. While he has only managed 7.7 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9, he’s sporting a fairly typical 10.0% swinging-strike rate and 96 mph average fastball. Wood has also generated groundballs at an excellent 58.6% rate in the early going.

While the Angels would surely rather continue trotting Wood out there, turning to Anderson represents an interesting alternative. The 25-year-old has opened eyes in the upper minors after a strong showing in camp. Through 8 2/3 innings at the Double-A and Triple-A thus far in the regular season, he has racked up a 14:2 K/BB ratio while allowing just two hits and no earned runs. That’s certainly an intriguing development for a pitcher who, entering the season, had averaged less than seven strikeouts per nine as a professional.

Angels Designate Luke Bard

By | at

The Angels have designated right-hander Luke Bard for assignment, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Bard’s roster spot will go to fellow righty Eduardo Paredes, whom the team recalled from Triple-A, per Maria Guardado of MLB.com.

The 27-year-old Bard joined the Angels last December as a Rule 5 pick from the Twins, who will have a chance to get Bard back for $50K if he goes through waivers unclaimed. If a team does claim Bard, it’ll need to keep him on its 25-man roster or risk losing him to waivers.

Bard, whom Minnesota chose in the first round of the 2012 draft, brings both an impressive minor league track record and an intriguing fastball to the table. He hasn’t yet pitched at the Triple-A level, though he carries a 3.09 ERA with 12.1 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 in 67 Double-A innings. Bard wasn’t able to replicate that success with the Angels early this season, though, as he pitched to a 5.40 ERA despite solid strikeout and walk rates (10.03 K/9, 3.86 BB/9) across 11 2/3 frames.

Injury Notes: Zobrist, Despaigne, Ohtani

By | at

Ben Zobrist says he’s headed to the DL to tend to a minor back injury, via Jesse Rogers of ESPN. There doesn’t seem to be any serious concern, but Zobrist has missed the past few games due to the injury, so the Cubs appear to be proceeding with caution. They’ll be able to make the move retroactive by a few days, so it seems unlikely he’ll be out for very long. The versatile Zobrist is in the third year of a four-year, $56MM contract with Chicago. He’s certainly off to an impressive start; in 49 plate appearances so far this season, the veteran has hit .326/.408/.465 with more walks (six) than strikeouts (5). For the time being, players like Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora Jr. and Ian Happ will likely continue to get an extra game here and there to plug the gaps created by Zobrist’s absence

A pair of additional injury notes elsewhere in MLB…

  • The Marlins officially placed 31-year-old righty Odrisamer Despaigne on the DL last night (along with fellow reliever Chris O’Grady), as we noted in our daily roster roundup. The reason was a strained forearm, which is always a concerning injury when it comes to pitchers. According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, Despaigne had the following to say about his injury: “I first felt it tight when I was warming up in the bullpen. I tried to keep going with it. When the game started, it’s when I started to feel the pain.” For the Marlins, it’s yet another development that thins out an already-shaky pitching staff.
  • Two-way Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani appears to be making progress in regards to his blister issues. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that Ohtani feels his blister is “recovering”, and that he’s on schedule to make a start on Tuesday in Houston. Fletcher also notes that Ohtani worked with pitching coach Charlie Nagy in a bullpen session, and came away with some things he can use (presumably to prevent a re-aggravation of the injury).

Matt Shoemaker Progressing From Nerve Issue

By | at

  • Things are looking up for Angels righty Matt Shoemaker, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. He’s hoping to begin throwing in relatively short order after experiencing “drastic improvement” in the nerve issue that has planted him on the DL. The Halos will certainly hope that Shoemaker can make steady progress once his rest period is over. Presumably, though, he’ll be given a long ramp given his injury history and the fact that he’ll have been down for some time.

Ohtani's Teammates, Coaches Discuss His Rapid Adjustments

By | at

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register runs through a number of factors that could contribute to the remarkable discrepancy between Shohei Ohtani’s uninspiring spring performance and his dominance on both sides of the ball during the regular season. Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic highlights (subscription link) Ohtani’s ravenous consumption of data and analytics that the Angels are providing him and his ability to make unnaturally quick adjustments. Veterans Ian Kinsler and Chris Young marveled to both Fletcher and Rosenthal about Ohtani’s work ethic and adaptability, while hitting coach Eric Hinske praised his willingness to ditch a leg kick he had long utilized at the plate in an effort to make his swing more efficient. Pitching coach Charles Nagy and catcher Martin Maldonado also weighed in on the way in which Ohtani has quickly adapted to his new environs while taking MLB by storm.

J.C. Ramirez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By | at

Angels right-hander J.C. Ramirez will miss the remainder of the 2018 season due to Tommy John surgery, GM Billy Eppler tells reporters (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). The procedure will be performed next Tuesday.

Ramirez, 29, was largely successful in his conversion from the bullpen to the rotation in 2017, tossing 147 1/3 innings of 4.15 ERA ball for the Halos while averaging 6.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 1.3 HR/9 to go along with a strong 51.4 percent ground-ball rate. Ramirez had never started a big league contest prior to the 2017 season but took the ball to open the game on 24 occasions in addition to three relief appearances.

Whether it was a case of correlation or causation, that significant hike in workload ended with Ramirez hitting the 60-day disabled list due to an elbow strain, which was later reported to be a small tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Ramirez received a platelet-rich plasma injection and stem-cell therapy on his right elbow in hopes of avoiding a surgical procedure that would’ve wiped out his entire 2018 season anyhow, but those treatments didn’t prove sufficient.

With Ramirez on the shelf for the remainder of the year and plenty of uncertainty surrounding righty Matt Shoemaker at present, the Angels have taken a pair of early hits to their starting pitching depth. They still have Shohei Ohtani, Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs, Andrew Heaney, Nick Tropeano, Parker Bridwell and Jaime Barria as options, though the majority of those arms have all had some form of medical issue within the past year or two. Given the team’s fast start and some early cracks in the rotation foundation, it stands to reason that the Halos will be connected to pitching upgrades over the next few months as the non-waiver deadline draws nearer.

As for Ramirez, he’ll earn his full $1.9MM salary for the 2018 season and accrue big league service time while he mends on the disabled list. He’ll be eligible for arbitration once again this winter and shouldn’t command much of a raise, if any at all, after starting just two games and pitching 6 2/3 total frames. The Angels will have to make the call, then, whether they prefer to pay him around $2MM for the 2019 campaign or cut him loose via non-tender and perhaps try to bring him back on a minor league deal. The Angels control Ramirez through 2021, so there’s some added appeal to keeping him on the roster and paying a small price for his rehab season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/13/18

By | at

Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • The Angels have added right-handed reliever Jordan Jankowski on a minor league contract. The 28-year-old got his first taste of the big league in 2017, tossing 4 1/3 frames for the Astros before landing with the Dodgers via waiver claim. Jankowski has averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 177 1/3 Triple-A frames in his career, though he’s struggled with control since being selected in the 34th round of the 2012 draft as well.
  • Former big league infielders Tyler Ladendorf and Darnell Sweeney have signed minor league pacts with the Blue Jays. Ladendorf, a former Twins second-rounder who was once traded to the A’s in exchange for Orlando Cabrera, logged 68 MLB plate appearances with Oakland from 2015-16 but hit just .123/.149/.154 in that brief time. He’s a career .258/.326/.350 hitter in Triple-A and has played second base, shortstop, third base and corner outfield as a pro. Sweeney, meanwhile, posted a .639 OPS in 98 plate appearances with the Phillies in 2015 after they acquired him from the Dodgers in the Chase Utley trade. He’s a career .258/.325/.394 hitter in Triple-A.
  • The Giants released outfielder Daniel Carbonell, who they’d originally signed Carbonell to a four-year, $3.5MM contract back in 2014 after he left Cuba. Signed because of his defensive prowess and speed, Carbonell’s bat never came around, as he appeared in just two Triple-A games with the Giants after stalling out in Double-A. In 437 plate appearances at that Double-A level, the now-27-year-old Carbonell hit just .188/.227/.273.

Matt Shoemaker Shut Down "A Few Weeks"

By | at

  • The Angels announced tonight that right-hander Matt Shoemaker has been shut down for “a few weeks.” Shoemaker, on the DL for a forearm strain, underwent an EMG and a “nerve conduction study,” though the tests revealed no nerve irritation, per the announcement. Shoemaker is “treatment only” at this time as he awaits further testing. The Halos’ pitching staff has been hammered by injuries over the past couple of seasons, and they’ve already lost right-hander J.C. Ramirez for the season, as he’s likely to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair ligament damage in his right elbow. The Angels are on the verge of getting Andrew Heaney back, but they’ve already had to turn to 21-year-old prospect Jaime Barria, who is making his big league debut tonight. At present, it seems as if the Angels will deploy Shohei Ohtani, Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs and Heaney in their rotation moving forward, with righties Barria, Parker Bridwell and Nick Tropeano on hand as additional options. However, the loss of Ramirez and now an absence of undetermined length for Shoemaker, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Angels keep an eye out for some pitching depth.

Angels Monitoring Bedrosian's Velocity Loss

By | at

  • The Angels are keeping an eye on Cam Bedrosian’s velocity, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The struggling setup man, however, insists that he’s not injured, though he acknowledges that the drop from an average of 96 mph to 93 mph on his fastball is an issue. Bedrosian feels that he developed some bad mechanical tendencies upon returning from a groin strain last season and is trying to get back to his old delivery. Pitching coach Charles Nagy noted that the dip in velocity is a “concern,” though Bedrosian also attributes his early results to simply not locating his pitches effectively.

J.C. Ramirez Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By | at

The Angels announced today that righty J.C. Ramirez has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, as MLB.com’s Maria Guardado was among those to report (Twitter link). His doctors have recommended that he undergo Tommy John surgery.

After some struggles with forearm tightness to open the year, following an offseason of stem-cell treatment for a partial UCL tear, this news isn’t exactly shocking. Still, it’s a disappointing development for a player who had been such a bright spot in 2017.

Ramirez, 29, had found little success in the majors until he threw well in a relief role down the stretch for the Angels in 2016. Still, nothing jumped off the page to foretell future success, with the exception of a healthy 54.9% groundball rate on the season.

Then came a 2017 campaign in which an injury-plagued Halos’ staff was desperate for innings. Ramirez ended up making 24 starts and providing 147 1/3 frames of 4.15 ERA ball. That’s hardly ace-level stuff, and the peripherals (6.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 51.4% GB, 1.28 HR/9) did not exactly excite, but Ramirez certainly provided more than anyone had cause to expect.

While the elbow troubles at season’s end created some obvious cause for trepidation, the Angels decided it was worth the risk to keep Ramirez around. The club tendered the Super-Two-eligible hurler an arb contract and ended up paying him $1.9MM.

If Ramirez ends up going under the knife for a full UCL replacement, he likely won’t be ready to pitch competitively until this time next year (at the soonest). He would likely earn at an identical rate of pay if the team chooses to tender him a contract once again this coming fall.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top